By Chef Michael Minorgan for Curtains Up
Welcome to the first of my weekly quick and easy and above all delicious recipes for your weekend enjoyment. My first recipe is a definite favorite of mine. I managed to glean it from a wonderful Vietnamese lady who I met on my last visit to Hoi An, a charming old fishing village in central Viet Nam. It is packed full of intoxicating flavors, very inexpensive and extremely easy to make..let me know how you like it.
Until next Friday..Live, Love and Eat!
CANH CUA (Vietnamese Hot and Sour Soup)
Ingredients
Yields: 8
4 stalks lemongrass*
4 kaffir lime leaves, torn*
4 cups low-sodium vegetable broth
1 Tbs canola oil
3 cloves garlic, finely minced
1 shallot, thinly sliced
2 Tbs Tom-Yum paste*
2 whole fresh pineapples
3 Tbs tamarind puree*
3 Tbs fish sauce*
3 Tbs palm sugar*
2 roma tomatoes, chopped
4 baby bok choy chopped*
1 bunch enoki mushrooms*
2 dozen straw mushrooms, quartered*
15 oz snapper fish fillets or other white fish
2 red Thai bird chilli, cut in thirds (or to taste)*
2 tsp black peppercorns
* All these items can be easily purchased at any Asian grocery store. Please don’t substitute items as the taste will not be authentic. If you have trouble finding any items let me know I can help you. I shop at Marche Kim Po on Victoria Ave near Cote Ste Catherine Rd
Directions
Peel the pineapples. Slice into 1-inch chunks. In a food processor, blend one pineapple into a fine puree. Add about 2 tablespoons of water if necessary to get a smoother flow. Keep the second pineapple as is. Set aside.
Wash the lemongrass; cut each stalk into 2-inch pieces and bruise the pieces with a hammer.
In a 5-quart stockpot, bring 1-1/4 quarts of water and the vegetable broth to a boil. Add the kaffir lime, black peppercorns, pineapple puree and lemongrass. Cook for 30 minutes. Strain in a sieve. Discard the aromatics but keep one stalk of lemongrass and a few kaffir lime leaves for presentation in your soup tureen at the end. Pour the strained broth back into the stock pot.
In a small pan, heat 2 teaspoons of oil and add the straw mushrooms. Cook for about 2-3 minutes, and then add the enoki mushrooms. Transfer to a plate and set aside. In the same pan, add the rest of the oil, add the chopped garlic and the chilli pieces. Cook until slightly golden. Add the tom yum paste and a ladleful of the broth. Pour all the contents of the saucepan into the big stock pot. The broth should be fragrant and properly seasoned.
Check for the sourness of the broth. Add the tamarind puree. Taste. Add the fish sauce. Taste. Then finish with the sugar if necessary. The secret is to balance the sweetness and the saltiness. Be sure not to over salt!
Bring the soup back to a boil then add all the mushrooms and tomatoes. After adding the ingredients, the broth may cool a bit. Let it come back to a boil for a last time, and then add the fish. Cover for 5-8 minutes, and then remove the pot from the stove.
Accompany the soup with a bowl of steamed jasmine rice. Each person spoons some rice into the bowl of canh chua.
Tips
The broth should be made in 3 steps, in this order, sour, salt and sweet. It’s very important that you taste the broth at every single step to ensure a balance of flavours.
The key to a good broth is to use 2 fresh whole pineapples, one for the broth and one for serving in the soup. Make sure they are naturally extremely sweet so you don’t have to add much more sugar to the broth. I usually add palm sugar to the broth if the pineapple isn’t quite sweet enough.
Email: michael@globalgourmets.ca Website: www.globalgourmets.ca
